And we are live on capitol hill, standing by for a discussion to get under way about political civility and bipartisanship with a series of lawmakers. It is the snacks and cocktails portion of the event hosted by georgetown. Well have live coverage when it gets under way here on cspan3. So were waiting for the discussion on political civility to get under way. A group of lawmakers coming by here on capitol hill, this just a day before President Trump is set to give his first state of the Union Address before a joint session of congress. Our state of the Union Coverage begins tomorrow night at 8 00 eastern with a preview. Well follow that with the president s speech at 9 00 and then get your reaction on the phone afterwards. All live on cspan. T also can watch at cspan. Org or listen on the free radio app. Earlier today we got a chance to preview his address from kellyanne conway. Lets take a look at what she had to say while we wait for this event to get started. Thank you for being here. And excuse my appearance. I fell and broke my arm a couple weeks ago, so im just getting by here, but were eager to talk with kellyanne conway, key adviser in helping shape the president s policies and his message and well start by talking about the state of the union tomorrow night. A big speech. And a year ago the president gave his first speech to a joint address to congress and he got pretty good reviews. It lasted a short while because in the days that followed are there were a number of controversies including some by him that sort of created a more polarized environment on the hill and im wondering looking to the speech tomorrow night, what can the president do to set that bipartisan tone to try to achieve those deals that he wants with democrats in Congress Without getting sort of kicked on which the script so to speak . First of all, thank you for having me. Thanks to the Washington Post and any other sponsors. We appreciate the platform today. The president is working on a bipartisan forwardlooking speech that is positive in tone and content and what that really means is when working on the speech, it is a reflection on on the past years accomplishments, but also not as just checking a box, but really what is the nexus between what has happened in your own life or your own business or own aspirations. And then how is that a frame work for working together in 2018. I would point out a few things that are pretty recent. One is about two, three weeks ago now the president held forth for 55 minutes uninterrupted unscripted with a Bipartisan Group of legislators in the cabinet room. It was quite unexpected i think mainly by the media, the press pool who were covering it and they were pleased to have that kind of live unfiltered and unscripted exchange between the president and the legislators. That is good for transparency, accountability, democracy. And it is that kind of conversation we need to keep having. That particular issue was about that meeting was about immigration. And you see an openness and flexibility by this president very recently on the daca recipients, the d. R. E. A. M. Ers, he will address that tomorrow in his speech. Immigration will be one of the major five or six points covered. And i would the go back to august 21 when the president came out with his afghan any po policy speech. A little bit of a diversion from where he was during the campaign. Speech. A little bit of a diversion from where he was during the campaign. I know you wrote about it at the time and were criticized for saying it is a new President Trump on afghanistan, new strategy. But indeed it was. So id like to share those examples of openness and flexibilities. It will be bipartisan in tone because that is the only way to function in this town. We saw during the Government Shutdown very unfortunate that folks wanted it, but you saw to reopen the government, you literally needed bipartisan cooperation. We were very happy that Many Democrats came around, bucked their Party Leadership and voted to reopen the government a week ago. And you talked about immigration which will come up in the speech tomorrow. The white house has a framework that has been previewed in the last couple of days that does include something for the d. R. E. A. M. Ers, legal status for the d. R. E. A. M. Ers. Is that a red line for the president , is he committed to seeing some sort of legal status for the hundreds of thousands of kids who are here without documentation . The president has said that and in fact as you saw the framework currently includes resolution for 1. 8 million. So it would include those who never availed themselves of that after president obama took action in 2012. So it actually includes those who never took the action in addition to the roughly 700,000 or 800,000 who did. So that is there. But also there is 25 billion for enhanced security at the border. We are a nation and the president will talk about how a sovereign nation must have physical borders, that we as a nation have spent billions over men decades helping other countries secure their borders and protect their sovereignty. And he believes and has successfully won on and is governing on enhancing security at the border. That includes the wall and other security measures. But that also i would say that is his red line. But again, a great symbol of how cooperation and discussion can be had on the same issue with two very divergent priorities. I think if you look at the conversation in the past several months, if not year, when the democrats talk about immigration, they basically are talking about the d. R. E. A. M. Ers, the daca recipients. This president put out a 70 point plan where he talks about merit based immigration, an end to chain migration, an end to the visa lottery system, obviously Border Security and now daca recipients. As his political counselor, how do you help him navigate the currents in the Republican Base right now . Breitbart has taken to calling him amnesty don. How does he manage being compassionate with the d. R. E. A. M. Ers and coming up with some sort of legal status for them while satisfying his base that is very hard line on immigrati immigration . That is not a conversation that we have because he is the president of all americans including the millions who didnt vote for him. That is what he said on november 9 in his speech. And he added that when we were up in the residence, and he said it at the hilton. He said im the president of all americans, even those who didnt support me and there are more than a few of you i believe were his words or something there about. And you have to take that seriously as president because it is just like the tax cut and jobs act, people were lied to that it couldnt pass and if it did it would only help the wealthy and people now see it is helping upwards of 3 Million People already, 274 companies have taken action as of this morning was the last count i saw. And youre talking about a direct investment in your workplaces, your workforces, raises, obviously bonuses. But also Capital Investments in skills training, education for on your employees, the broader communities being invested in. And even some benefits that have long been seen as the province of the other party, i think that is ridiculous because everybodying thineverybody i thinks about child care and wellness. But you have many job creators taking action because of this tax cut and they are saying that because of the tax cut, we are doing x, y and z. Mr. A there are plenty of people who will benefit that doesnt support the president. Ill give you the best example. In addition to working on the big issues of the day like tax reform, infrastructure, immigration, i tend to some things in my portfolio that i can legitimately refer to as nonpartisan issues. And when i go around the country meeting with grieving families or talking to Law Enforcement officers or Health Professionals or Faith Based Community leaders, i dont ask them how did you vote, are you registered. You just cant care when youre serving the country. And i do think people who feel that way are the ones who should serve in government. And todays a busy news day as every day catholic meeting, there is no one in the front row and the audio visuals never work. So well test that. Thank you all for coming. Im director of the initiative on catholic social thought and public life and we are the host of this. Were very grateful to the Chaplains Office for their health. Father pat and karen. And our friends at the Democracy Fund who support our efforts at civil dialogue at a time when it is more important than ever. We do a bunch of stuff. We do large dialogues up at georgetown and ill mention a couple of those at the end. We do some convenings. But probably the most important thing we do is reach out to Young Leaders here in old, very old, as im told by my children all the time, but my experience is a lot of Young Leaders come to washington full idealism and motivated by their faith and they get pulled into the wars. And the great temptation in washington is not corruption i dont think, it is cynicism. And now especially we wanted to hold up a different vision and different kind of leadership. So here we are, a day before the state of the union, which is as close as you get to american liturgy. Im catholic. You know, there is an entrance procession, they stand, they sirk sit, they dont kneel, but they are tempted. There is clapping, sometimes booing. Its gotten so bad who was it that said you lie to the president of the United States. But my memories of the House Chamber are not about state of the union. They are when pope francis was here a couple years ago and i had the privilege of being in the chamber. Never seen it that quiet. Ive never seen people that happy frankly. Seems like the only thing they could agree on was they wanted to be with the pope. And he had a different message. He said each son or daughter of a given country has mission, a personal and social responsibility. Your responsibility as a member of congress and i would suggest also as people who work with congress is to enable this country by your legislative activity to grow as a nation. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens, the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. That is not where we are today. So today we gather for an hour to hear from three leaders who have a different vision. They are not your typical partisans. We have an africanamerican senator who is a republican who challenged the republican president for his response to charlottesville and what he said about african nations. We have a member of the house who is a business person who is running for president to take on bipartisanship at a time of great partisanship. And to lead this off, were especially glad to hacongresswon dingell who has served all her life for all the toe workuto wo. Before and after she was in the house, she was a bridge builder. As you know, she comes from michigan, 12th district. In the bio i read, it said shaped by her catholic education. She works for Human Dignity and for children and women. She is graduate of georgetown, two degrees. My 20 year plan. Put this is on the extra credit. And one of the things as i was thinking about these three members, what struck me is for them the personal is political and the political is personal. And i read i think it was recently you talked to High School Students about drugs, opoid crisis, and there were a lot of experts and congresswoman dingell talked about her own family, her own father, her sister, mary grace, and she said i hope what happened to our family wont happen to your family. And i identified with that. My brother wrote a book about addiction. The other thing i read and loved about congresswoman dingell is she offers an annual holiday greeting called the dingell jingle. And this is the two closing verses of this years jingle. In the congress we will keep on fighting, maybe we can find some Common Ground, how about funding c. H. I. P. And fixing daca before we take those jet planes out of town. No matter if red or blue, lets keep taking a stand, lets work handinhand. So congresswoman dingell is a hard working listed as one of the most hard working members of the house. She is a bridge building and apparently a rhyming member of congress. And so the questions we ask her to offer a few thoughts is how can you be both principal hled civil in a time of great division. What are the behaviors and actions that help and hurt. And what advice would she have for Young Leaders who are trying to practice politics as a vocation. So thank you very much, congresswoman. Thank you. First of all, ive been losing my voice for three months, which you could joke and say republicans are happy, but not the right thing to say as were standing here today. Thank you for that very kind introduction. And the dingell jingle started with my husband long ago, so im just trying to keep up with him years later. I sort of laugh when you talk about father, its good to be here with you too. Hes been a good friend of my family for a long time and they know when im at church because im always in the last pew. But it is good to be with all of you and talk about a subject that is very passionate for me long before i ever got in the congress. I recommend to all of you how many of you are georgetown graduates . A lot of you. I went back to georgetown in the 90s and got my masters from the local studies program and i lobbied for the Doctoral Program in liberal studies which is an Excellent Program for everybody that wants to keep learning and studying. And some day ill get my doctorate from that program. We lobbied for that program for a decade and i think life should be life long learning. But interestingly, my masters thesis was on civility in congress. So it is a subject that and in the 90s this is all right from my heart because its been a crazy day and i didnt even look at the questions, which i should have. But so you are really getting this straight from me. But in the 90s, i began to worry about what we were witnessing. And i think that there is a real problem that people dont get to know each other. Im sort of a i say im not old, but im seasoned. Most of you or many of you may know my husband is a great man, john dingell, and i married him when i was a child but weve been married for on 38 years. And i married him in 80 when it was a very Different Congress and a very different time. It was actually a headline that said that i was going to work. I kept mica rear at General Motors and congressional spouses didnt work then. People moved here and they had relationships. And i watched things change. I was part of watching the change. Any member by the 90s that didnt go home every weakekend will lose their election. Families started i cant remember what year in was, but we briefed spouses when they would get here and some would say people say i have to move here, but do i have to move here . And i said nobody can tell you what to do. Every sdriblgdistrict is differ about that everyone marria. Every marriage is different. And she said you take the guilt away from me for not moving here. And it is a really complicated time. But i think that in the 90s is when you began to see people didnt by the early 2000s, and i love newt gingrich. Dont agree with him on much, but newt and maryanne were very close friends. I think a lot of things that he did in the mid90s contributed to what has been somewhat of a loss of civility. But republicans trusted me enough that we actually organized bipartisan retreats. And i worked very hard to keep them from being political. Wasnt always successful, but tried hard. And we talked about a lot of issues back then and the lack of relationships was really one and everybody loved those weekends because they got to know people they would never get to know otherwise. And even i have been here three years and i have nothing on my ethics report because im just but what im doing isnt necessarily the right thing to do either. Because codels were a way that you traveled with people and you got to know people. You developed relationships. And what has happened is that members fly in on mondays, i didnt realize we didnt have votes on wednesday morning and i said to my staff put me on the 6 ox a. M. O6 00 a. M. On wednesday. Tonight i have eight receptions, tomorrow night i think there are 15. And im out of here on wednesday. That didnt give you a lot of time. In the 80s and 90s, wed go to dinners, republicans and democrats and administration people. Youd talk about ideas. I had a really great conversation with the director of Homeland Security and nobody would believe the conversation i had with the secretary of labor yesterday. But the opportunities arent there for people to just sit and talk. So i think that is one of the i would encourage you, i dont know where you work, if you are in incorporations, if youre staff, when i get to know each other. First bit of advice is lose the electronics. Pick up the foin aphone and tal people. Every take i give to a high school or college or graduation speech, we do too much texting and not enough just talking to somebody. Really having a dialogue. You get a lot more out of a dialogue. But i have many friends on both sides of the aisle. There are days i feel more comfortable on the republican side of the house than the democratic side. But it also most people dont know this, but i was a republican when i married my husband. And very active. I was a teenage republican camp counselor. And have many friends. Spence abraham was my date for my husband prom. So that tells you. And i knew his twins when they were born. We had relationships that go way back. But i say to people i was milliken republican. He was a moderate, but probably more liberal than some of the democrats i know. And im a dingell democrat. Both respected people, both re